Crystal Harmonica Alexandra, 6th grade, Trinity School, Columbus,
Ohio To make the sound, I get my finger wet and run it
lightly over the edge of the glass like a bow on a
violin. The friction between my finger and the glass
makes it vibrate or hum. The Crystal Harmonica belongs to the percussion
family because friction causes sound. However, it also
belongs to the string family because it is played like a
violin you could say it is a "stringed" instrument
without strings. There is another way to play the Crystal Harmonica.
You can also tap the glasses lightly and this would be
another example of the Crystal Harmonica as a percussion
instrument.
I named my instrument Crystal Harmonica
because the sound it makes comes from crystal. I took 3
crystal glasses, water and a pencil. Each glass is filled
to a different level.
The
pitch of the humming sound depends on the water level.
When I fill the glass almost to the top, I get a low
pitch. When I fill the glass with less water, I get a
higher pitch. The more mass, the lower the pitch.